The Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros made a trade Monday to swap troubled closers.
The Blue Jays traded Roberto Osuna to the Astros, while Houston sent Toronto a package headlined by closer Ken Giles and Houston’s No. 10 prospect Hector Perez, a pitcher.
Osuna, 23, is one of the best young closers the game has seen in some time. He earned his first all-star appearance in 2017 and seemed like he could on his way to another one in his fourth full season in the big leagues before being suspended 15 appearances into his season for domestic violence.
The suspension is for 75 games and Osuna will be eligible to return on Aug. 5.
The reigning World Series champions certainly acquire a great deal of talent by bringing in Osuna, so in that regard, they made a nice trade. However, the domestic violence situation brings several new elements to the organization. How will the team handle the controversy? How do fans react? Several Astros players, namely Justin Verlander, have been incredibly outspoken on their disdain for those who commit violence. How do they reconcile this with their new teammate during a playoff run?
The Astros have gotten their team a lot more attention this year for the wrong reasons by making this move.
The Blue Jays, conversely, come off looking pretty clean in this deal, ridding themselves of the stink of Osuna. They also get a nice prospect in Perez and another piece in David Paulino in addition to Ken Giles.
Giles, 27, has had his own issues this year, although his were pretty much all on the field.
Giles had a fantastic 2017 season and has not been able to follow it up in 2018, seemingly since Gary Sanchez hit this home run that lost the Astros the game and caused him to start punching himself in the face.
Giles has a 4.99 ERA on the season in 34 games this year. His walks are actually way down from last year, but so are his strikeout rates. Giles has struggled so much and taken it out on his teammates and coaches, that he was sent down to the minor leagues a few weeks ago.
The Blue Jays are getting a fresh start and can help a struggling pitcher regain effectiveness in their low-pressure environment. The Astros, conversely, will now have to deal with the side effects of bringing in Osuna.
Featured Image via Flickr/Keith Allison
